An early aerial photographic system described in U.S. Pat. No. 894,398, photographs the earth during free fall of the camera. The system is limited because the sharpness of the exposure depends on the shutter speed and no means is provided for stabilizing the camera against environmental effects such as wind perturbances.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,184,846 describes a camera which is stabilized by attaching it to a plurality of relatively short lengths of cable which are connected to a main suspension cable. This arrangement is inadequate for high resolution photography.